7-Eleven Uses Flirtey Drone to Deliver Food to Reno Resident

In celebration of 7-Eleven’s 89th birthday, drone delivery company Flirtey has completed what it says was the U.S.’ first fully autonomous, federally approved drone delivery to a customer’s residence.

At a 7-Eleven store in Reno, Nev., two deliveries were completed: Slurpee drinks, a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee and 7-Select candy were loaded into a Flirtey drone delivery container and flown autonomously using precision GPS to a local family’s backyard, where the drone hovered in place and gently lowered each package. The purchases were delivered to the family in the span of a few minutes, says Flirtey.

The company teamed with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS) – part of the Federal Aviation Administration drone test sites – for the delivery.

Reno resident Michael, who received the Flirtey delivery, says, “My wife and I both work and have three small children – ages seven, six and one. The convenience of having access to instant, 24/7 drone delivery is priceless. It’s amazing that a flying robot just delivered us food and drinks in a matter of minutes.”

Building on this initial collaboration, the two companies have plans to expand drone delivery tests and work closely together in the future, according to Jesus H. Delgado-Jenkins, 7-Eleven’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

“This delivery marks the first time a retailer has worked with a drone delivery company to transport immediate consumables from store to home,” says Delgado-Jenkins. “In the future, we plan to make the entire assortment in our stores available for delivery to customers in minutes.”

Matt Sweeny, CEO of Flirtey, says, “We’re absolutely thrilled to have 7-Eleven, the largest convenience chain in the world, embracing new technologies and working with us at Flirtey to make drone delivery a reality for customers all over the world.

“This is just the first step in our collaboration with 7-Eleven. Flirtey’s historic drone deliveries to date have been stepping stones to store-to-home drone delivery, and today is a giant leap toward a not-too-distant future where we are delivering you convenience on demand.”

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